George Booth
Encyclopedia
George Booth V, pen name George Booth (born June 28, 1926) is a New Yorker
cartoonist
.
, he was the son of schoolteachers; his mother was also a musician and fine artist and cartoonist, and his father became a school administrator in Fairfax, Missouri
, where Booth grew up on a vegetable farm. Booth attended, but did not graduate from, the Corcoran College of Art and Design
, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Visual Arts
, and Adelphi College
.
Drafted into the United States Marine Corps
in 1944, he was invited to re-enlist and join the Corps' Leatherneck
magazine as a staff cartoonist; when re-drafted for the Korean War
, he was ordered back to Leatherneck. As a civilian, he moved to New York City
where he struggled as an artist, married, then worked as an art director in the magazine world. During this era he worked on the comic strip Spot in 1956. Fed up, he quit and pursued cartooning full time, beginning a successful phase in 1969 with his first New Yorker cartoon sale. He also created the comic strip Local Item in 1986.
George Booth currently resides in Stony Brook, New York
, where he continues to be a cartoonist and a collector of local artwork from artists in the area.
Over time, his cartoons have become an iconic feature of the magazine. In a doodler's style, they feature everymen beset by modern complexity, goofballs perplexing their spouses, cats, and very often a fat dog. One signature element is a ceiling light bulb on a cord pulled out of vertical by another cord attached to an electrical appliance such as a toaster. Most of the household features in his cartoons are taken from his own home, such as the rugs, chairs, ferns, and cats. One of his own cats, adopted later in his career, was described as being "more like my drawing than the drawings...when he lies down, his back feet go out in back-straight out."
The National Cartoonists Society
recognized his work with the Gag Cartoon Award in 1993 and the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
.
Biography
Born in Cainsville, MissouriCainsville, Missouri
Cainsville is a city in Harrison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 370 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cainsville is located at ....
, he was the son of schoolteachers; his mother was also a musician and fine artist and cartoonist, and his father became a school administrator in Fairfax, Missouri
Fairfax, Missouri
Fairfax is a city in Clark Township, Atchison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 638 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Fairfax is located at ....
, where Booth grew up on a vegetable farm. Booth attended, but did not graduate from, the Corcoran College of Art and Design
Corcoran College of Art and Design
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, , founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.The Corcoran Gallery of Art is Washington's first and...
, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, and Adelphi College
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
.
Drafted into the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in 1944, he was invited to re-enlist and join the Corps' Leatherneck
Leatherneck Magazine
Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines is a magazine for United States Marines. It was first published as a newspaper by off-duty Marines at Marine Corps Base Quantico in 1917, and was originally named The Quantico Leatherneck...
magazine as a staff cartoonist; when re-drafted for the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, he was ordered back to Leatherneck. As a civilian, he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he struggled as an artist, married, then worked as an art director in the magazine world. During this era he worked on the comic strip Spot in 1956. Fed up, he quit and pursued cartooning full time, beginning a successful phase in 1969 with his first New Yorker cartoon sale. He also created the comic strip Local Item in 1986.
George Booth currently resides in Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a hamlet located in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, which is on the North Shore of Long Island...
, where he continues to be a cartoonist and a collector of local artwork from artists in the area.
Over time, his cartoons have become an iconic feature of the magazine. In a doodler's style, they feature everymen beset by modern complexity, goofballs perplexing their spouses, cats, and very often a fat dog. One signature element is a ceiling light bulb on a cord pulled out of vertical by another cord attached to an electrical appliance such as a toaster. Most of the household features in his cartoons are taken from his own home, such as the rugs, chairs, ferns, and cats. One of his own cats, adopted later in his career, was described as being "more like my drawing than the drawings...when he lies down, his back feet go out in back-straight out."
The National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
recognized his work with the Gag Cartoon Award in 1993 and the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
External links
- NCS Awards: Gag Cartoons
- "The Illustrated Man" 1999 profile in The Boston Phoenix
- http://www.cartoonbank.com/bin/venda?ex=co_wizr-locayta&template=wz_locayta&pageno=1&perpage=20&collate=ivtype%3Apdxtlayout%3Apdxtstyle%3Apdxtdecade%3Apdxtpublicationdate%3Apdxtartist%3Apdxtpublished%3Apdxtperson%3Apdxtdesigner%3Apdxtauthor%3Apdxtlocation%3Apdxtcity%3Apdxtstate%3Apdxtcountry&refine_sort_alph=&fieldrtype=type&termtextrtype=invt&typertype=exact&fieldcatrestrict=xancestorid&termtextcatrestrict=shop&typecatrestrict=exact&typekeywordsearch=keyword&termtextkeywordsearch=george+booth The Cartoon Bank] George Booth's work from The New Yorker